Dote

On Saturday we had the opportunity to attend our friend’s dote, or dowry ceremony. Traditionally this is the time when the families negotiate the price of the bride. Now they do it because it is tradition, but it is all a show.

The bride’s family sits facing the groom’s family with the leaders of the families sitting at the center.

The bride’s father gets up and asks why we have all come to his house, he pretends that they have no idea why we came. Then the leader of the grooms family says that Jean-Claude, the groom to be, has seen Francine and is now sick because of her. The father says, “what do you think we are a hospital?” And it goes on back and forth like this, until they agree that they want their families to be united. It’s funny because they are doing all this negotiation, but I already have the printed wedding invitation, so we know what the outcome is going to be. During the negotiation people are laughing because of what the leaders are saying, so it is all in good humor and just to preserve their culture.

After they agree that the marriage will take place the father says that he doesn’t know where Francine is but that he will send someone to look for her.

Then the women and the bride to be parade in.

Jean-Claude and Francine greet the two families and then exchange gifts. Jean-Claude received a bible and Francine received her engagement ring.

It was a very interesting ceremony and I am excited to attend the wedding in November.

The baskets are full of various items and were carried into the ceremony as a gift to the bride’s family. The bride’s family then empties the baskets, in private, and fills them with their own gifts and then they are returned to the groom’s family at the end. they are full of items like potatoes, carrots and sugar.

Studio and omlete

I am writing this blog under the safety of my mosquito net. As soon as the sun goes down those little demons are after me. And for some reason they always bite me on my feet/ankles and on my elbows, it is very annoying. But it is a little humorous that I wear mosquito repellent while indoors.

I mentioned in my last posting that we are working on recording a song for an r&b type band. We recorded the instrumentalist, the back up vocalists, the lead female and tomorrow the solo guitarist. Then I will mix everything and hopefully we will have something good. Mixing is probably my favorite part of the recording process because I get the chance to be a little creative. Actually, for this project Im also programming all of the drums and percussion, and they want me to add some sort of violin part to the mix as well, so we will see if that turns out.

I made an interesting observation on Sunday while eating out for lunch. I went to this little café called Cappuccino in town. I was the

only one in this café, probably because it was Sunday and most Burundian services last longer than the one that I attend. It felt strange being in this café because I felt as if I could be in the US. The seating was comfortable, the presentation of the food was nice, my omelet and coffee were great, there was a flat screen tv playing music videos, and a Michael Jackson album was playing in the

background. Then I looked out the window and saw the Burundian flag blowing in the wind and the street below almost un- drivable with potholes. My observation was this:

Not very many Burundians could eat in this restaurant. It wasn’t expensive, I got a large omelet for 3 US dollars, and that was the deluxe version. It was a strange realization that I have the opportunity to eat in a restaurant that many people could never afford to eat in. I am a volunteer, I don’t get paid, and I can afford to eat here. Many people in Burundi, and all over world, live on less than 2 dollars a day. I don’t know if I could ever understand what it would be like to be in their situation.

sunsets and laundry

This last week the Congo mountains started to peek out from behind the haze. The rainy season will begin soon clearing the air and improving the view.

You can bareley see the mountains just below the sun.

My house is at the bottom right just out of view.

I’m sorry that I don’t have very much to write about this week. I’ve just been continuing with my language lessons and working at the studio. We had a band come in on Thursday of last week to record a little piano, and they will be coming back on Wednesday of this week to do some vocals and guitars. Thursday was a bit stressful because the software we are using is new to me and I am still learning it. Charles, the other engineer, was out fixing something, so it was just me and the band. They wanted me to program some drums for them, a very simple task, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it on this software (I know how to do it on 4 different types of software but not this one), oh and did I mention that the entire program is in French. Hmm… but we worked our way through it and I’m looking forward to working with them again on Wednesday.

One of the many luxuries that I have taken for granted my entire life is a washing machine

Here is a picture of our washing machine
The rinse cycle is on the left




Washing my clothes by hand takes a lot of time and work but it really isn’t that bad. Maybe in a couple of weeks I will feel differently about it, but for now I enjoy taking the time to listen to my ipod and reflect on my week.

another week

Ah, another week has flown by! I think being in a routine causes the days to progress more quickly.

One of my daily routines is riding the mini-bus. Now, a mini-bus is basically a beat up van that has been converted into public transportation, but just because these clunkers have seen a few years doesn’t mean they lack style. Almost all of them have a given name that is in a giant decal on the front and rear windows. Some popular names include: God is One, Allah Akbar, G-Unit, New G-Unit, One Love, 50-Cent, and my personal favorite Judgment Day. 

The mini-buses have set routs but they have no set stops, you give them a little wave if you want a ride, and they stop for you if they have room. Thankfully the street I live on is the end of one of the lines so there is always an empty bus.

Here are the mini buses at the central market. Most busses go to and from the central market. I ride a bus from my house to the market then get on another one heading to the radio station. 

Last week we had a choir come into the studio. Thursday the guitarists and keyboardist came in to record their tracks, and the choir came in on Friday. This was our first real test for the studio.  I think that we succeeded but I will know for sure on Tuesday when I return to the studio to mix our recording. The choir recorded about 7 songs and we only had a few glitches, so I think this is a good sign for our progress.

A shot of the center of town by the market  

Yesterday (Sunday) was the holiday Eid, which is the last day of Ramadan, but because it fell on a weekend today was a day off for many people. I didn’t find out that I would have the day off until 10pm last night. So, today I am sending posting my blog from a internet café called Aroma instead of from work as I usually do.

Ngozi

This weekend I had the opportunity to travel again up country but this time to a town called Ngozi. It took us about 3 hours by bus, but it was nice seeing more of the countryside. Ngozi is the 3rd largest town in Burundi, but it was still very small. Burundi has many people but they are spread out in hundreds of smaller towns. I went to Ngozi because Emmanuel was giving a talk to some university students at the local college. The talk was in French so I only caught a few ideas, but it was good for me to have practice listening to French. It has been difficult for me to practice my French because many people want to practice their English with me.

The next morning we attended a local church. It was a small congregation but they were very strong singers, we could hear them all the way down the street. The church building consisted of a tin roof and the walls of the neighboring buildings. Emmanuel asked me to share a little with the congregation about why I was in Burundi, so I gave a short talk. I am usually a little intimidated by public speaking, but having a translator made it easy because I always had time to think about what I would say between sentences.

This is the yahoo bus that we took to Ngozi. I think they borrowed the name from somewhere

We are starting to make real progress at the studio, which I am very excited about. We have been working out a lot of kinks, and we will continue to do so, but on Friday we made a huge step and started the recording process! A young man came in to be our test subject. He had recorded some music on his keyboard so we played that back and recorded him singing, and I think that the results were very positive. We still have to mix the song, but I am very excited about the progress we are making.

a routine

This week has been a good time of transition. I spent the first two weeks getting oriented, but now my routine has begun. On Saturday I moved in with my host family, Emmanuel and Nadine. They are siblings and we share a three-bedroom house in the neighborhood called Knindo in Bujumbura.

One thing that I have been getting used to is a late dinner. We eat dinner at 8 or 9pm every evening. I was told that this is the Burundian way of doing dinner. We usually have rice, cooked bananas (sort of like plantains) or potatoes, peas, and gravy. Sometimes we have beans as well, but the first time we did Emmanuel asked me if I requested them from the cook because he doesn’t like them. He said he grew up eating them. Beans are a cheaper form of food, so many eat them, but those who can afford it eat rice.

Yes, we have a cook. His name is Vienne and he also does some other random chores. At first it felt strange having a cook, but I think it makes since in this context. At home we have microwaves, ovens, helpful cooking appliances, as well as other conveniences such as a washer and dryer, but at this house Vienne cooks outside with charcoal stove. If he were not here Nadine or Emmanuel would not be able to work a full day because lunch and dinner would need to be prepared and this is a time consuming task. I believe it is common for middle class Burundians to have some sort of hired help, but I will see as I get to know more people.

On Monday I began working at the radio station. At this time, I will be primarily working in the recording studio. It is still in the set up process, and this last week we have been trying to work out some things so that we can become fully functional. It would be simple if we could just hop on down to the guitar center and pick up a few things, but we don’t have that luxury.

I realized this week how convenient it is living in the US. We only have to travel 10 min and we can have anything we want: electronics, supermarkets, books, and fast food.

Also, last Monday I began French lessons, and I will continue them every weekday for the month of September. My teacher, Amos, is a patient and caring individual, and I feel that the lessons are productive. One problem I am having with learning French is that everyone here also speaks Kirundi. Burundians among themselves prefer to speak Kirundi, so when I am in a room full of Burundians I hear Kirundi. When I am one on one with a Burundian they will use English because they know that is what I am comfortable with, even if they only know a little.

This is the station.
The recording studio is the window on the left

Up Country

This last week we went up country to spend some time learning Kirundi and to experience a different part of Burundi. We drove about 3 hours north east of Bujumbura up into the hills, and the last third of the journey was entirely on dirt roads. The place we stayed was called Burasira, and there is another MCC worker named Jodie who works with a school in the area. Jodie arranged for us to have Kirundi lessons at the school everyday, but Kirundi is a difficult language so only a little stuck with me.


This is the school that we had our kirundi lessons in.


We stayed in the dorms of a catholic seminary and we were privileged to share all of our meals with the priests in their private dining room. Our days in Burasira consisted of Kirundi lessons, going to market, watching pottery being made, and dining with the priest, it was an overall great experience.


this is the road from the school that leads into the village.






This is the village on a market day







On Saturday I moved in with my host family, and on Monday I started French lessons and also began working at the radio station, but I will post later about all of that.